# US 5,330,962 A · Thermal dye transfer printing method for obtaining a hard copy of a medical diagnostic image > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 5,330,962 A - Document ID: US5330962A - Status: Granted - Kind: A - Application number: 07/974,906 - Filed: 1992-11-12 - Granted: 1994-07-19 - Earliest claimed: 1991-11-19 - Assignees: Agfa-Gevaert - Inventors: Luc De Braabandere; Emiel Verdonck; Frans Feytens; Martin Pollefeyt - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5330962A ## CPC - B41M 5/52: Macromolecular coatings - B41M 5/41: Base layers {supports or substrates} - B41M 5/42: Intermediate, {backcoat}, or covering layers {(B41M5/405 takes precedence; multilayer thermal transfer systems in general B41M5/38214)} - B41M 5/44: characterised by the macromolecular compounds - B41M 5/5254: {characterised by the use of polymers obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds, e.g. vinyl polymers} - B41M 2205/32: Thermal receivers - Y10S 428/913: Material designed to be responsive to temperature, light, moisture - Y10S 428/914: Transfer or decalcomania - Y10T 428/24893: including particulate material - Y10T 428/254: Polymeric or resinous material - Y10T 428/259: Silicic material - Y10T 428/31: Surface property or characteristic of web, sheet or block - Y10T 428/31768: Natural source-type polyamide [e.g., casein, gelatin, etc.] - Y10T 428/31786: Of polyester [e.g., alkyd, etc.] - B41M: PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING, (correction of typographical errors B41J; processes for applying transfer pictures or the like B44C1/16; fluid media for correction of typographical errors by coating C09D10/00; printing textiles D06P) - Y10S: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS - Y10T: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION ## Abstract Thermal dye transfer printing method comprising the step of imagewise heating a dye-donor element comprising a support having thereon a dye layer thereby transferring a dye image to a transparant dye-image receiving element comprising a support having thereon a dye image-receiving layer and optionally having one or more back layers on the opposite side of the support, characterized in that said receiving element is such that when a dye image has been transferred onto said receiving element the specular gloss of the obtained dye image measured from the readable side of the image in areas having a transmission density of at least 2.00 is at the most 90, and transparant dye-image receiving element for use according to said method. ## Claims ### Claim 1 Transparant dye-image receiving element for use according to thermal dye transfer printing, said dye-receiving element comprising a support having thereon a dye image-receiving layer, said dye-image receiving element being such that when a dye image has been transferred onto said receiving element the specular gloss of the transferred dye image measured from the readable side of the image in areas having a transmission density of at least 2.00 is at the most 90. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) Transparant dye-image receiving element according to claim 1, wherein said dye-image receiving element is such that when a dye image has been transferred onto said receiving element the specular gloss of the transferred dye image measured from the readable side of the image in areas having a transmission density of at least 2.00 is at the most 50. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) Transparant dye-image receiving element according to claim 2, wherein said dye-image receiving element is such that when a dye image has been transferred onto said receiving element the specular gloss of the transferred dye image measured from the readable side of the image in areas having a transmission density of at least 2.00 is at the most 30. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) Transparant dye-image receiving element according to claim 1, wherein the said specular gloss is measured in areas having a transmission density of at least 2.20. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) Transparant dye-image receiving element according to claim 1, wherein the said transmission density is obtained by single pass printing. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) Transparant dye-image receiving element according to claim 1, wherein a layer of the dye-image receiving element contains a matting agent. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) Transparant dye-image receiving element according to claim 6, wherein the volume mean grain size of the matting agent is from 0.75 to 4.5 .mu.m. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) Transparant dye-image receiving element according to claim 6, wherein the matting agent is silica or a copolymer of methylmethacrylate, styrene and maleic acid. ### Claim 9 (depends on 6) Transparant dye-image receiving element according to claim 6, wherein the amount of matting agent is between 5 and 15% by weight of the binder resin. ### Claim 10 (depends on 6) Transparant dye-image receiving element according to claim 6, wherein the matting agent is contained in one or more of the back layers. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) Transparant dye-image receiving element according to claim 10, wherein the binder resin of the back layer is gelatine. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) Transparant dye-image receiving element according to claim 10, wherein at least one of the back layers comprises an antistatic agent. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) Transparant dye-image receiving element according to claim 1, wherein the support is transparant non-colored polyethylene terephthalate or transparant blue-colored polyethylene terephthalate. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) Transparant dye-image receiving element according to claim 13, wherein the support is provided on one side or on both sides with a subbing layer comprising a copolymer of vinylidene chloride. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) Transparant dye-image receiving element according to claim 1, wherein the support has a thickness of a least 120 .mu.m. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The transparent dye-image receiving element according to claim 1 wherein said dye-image receiving layer has at least one backing layer containing a polymeric binder on the opposite side of the support. ### Claim 17 Thermal dye transfer printing method comprising the step of imagewise heating a dye-donor element comprising a support having thereon a dye layer thereby transferring a dye image to a transparant dye-image receiving element, comprising a support having thereon a dye image-receiving layer, said dye-image receiving element being such that when a dye image has been transferred onto said receiving element the specular gloss of the transferred dye image measured from the readable side of the image in areas having a transmission density of at least 2.00 is at the most 90. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) Thermal dye transfer printing method according to claim 17, wherein said method is used to obtain a hard copy of a medical diagnostic image. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) Thermal dye transfer printing method according to claim 18, wherein said hard copies are black-and-white hard copies. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) Thermal dye transfer printing method according to claim 17, wherein the heating is effected by laser light. ### Claim 21 (depends on 17) The transparent dye-image receiving element according to claim 17 wherein said dye-image receiving layer has at least one backing layer containing a polymeric binder on the opposite side of the support.